BurscoughCurves

Freebs, Roger, thanks for the kind comments. All of the stonework starts with a base colour of humbrol mid-stone enamel (most of the buildings had a coat of grey plastic primer from Halfords beforehand). The retaining wall then had the high areas dabbed with browns using a sponge, followed by a liberal coating of black weathering powder. When dry, it was rubbed down with a nylon brush removing some of the ‘dirt’. I think it is covered on page 4 of my thread. The buildings all had browns and then small amounts of black enamel dry brushed on. I’m afraid I can’t be any more specific about the paints actually used because I’m currently on holiday but the base coats have definitely been mid stone enamel (number 31?) and latterly I have also used desert tan acrylic spray. I seem to think the brown was mainly railmatch ‘sleeper grime’ - a really useful colour. A valuable resource is Jason’s ‘buildings for Bacup’ and Bacup layout thread- I have taken a lot from his fantastic work. I have made a good start on a row of half relief, and full relief terraced houses. I can’t wait to get back from holiday to carry on! A random photo to finish whilst I’m on; I quite like the overwhelming walls and mill in the shot below. Regards, Pete

Thanks very much Shaun, that means a lot coming from yourself. I’m a big fan of your work and am really looking forward to seeing Bradford come together. The signals were a real fiddly pain but they will do for a first effort. I will definitely be using fully soldered brass components in the future. I was only admiring yours on Goathland the other day. Speaking of which; I live in Liverpool but try to get over to Whitby every now and again. Last November I was lucky enough to watch half an hour of steam era shunting at Goathland whilst on route to TMC! It was a great long weekend! Best regards, Pete

Some fantastic images there Al, they look so realistic. I love little details like the impromptu doors, they add so much to the larger scene. Pete

Hi all, Finished the large mill building with a few details today (mainly on the hidden side!) and have plonked it back in place for now. The ground level will be an inch or so above the base of the building. I cleaned the track so will have a few running sessions before making a start on the terraced houses. Not too many photos though but thanks for looking. Pete

It looks absolutely fantastic Jamie- I love that building! Regards, Pete

Thanks Mike. Hebble Vale Goods is a favourite of mine. It was the layout I was most looking forward to seeing at Wigan last year; it’s even better in the flesh than in the magazines. Pete

Hi All, A little more progress on the hipped roof on one of the mill buildings (first time uploaded from my phone...). Just needs coping stones and gutters, and some random cables and down pipes to add detail and hide the joins and imperfections! Pete

Hi All, I’m quite overwhelmed by the positive comments- thanks everyone! I’m glad people seem to like how things are looking; I’ve still got plenty to do yet and have learnt so much to take to my next layout. I’ve just been listening to the football whilst laying slates on the small mill building roof. I find this very tedious, even more than making windows for some reason. Still, after a coat of paynes grey and a dusting of talc I’m happy with the results. It has always been my dream to get a layout in a magazine, I’d love to do that with HPS before I have to give the spare room up! Thanks again, Pete

Phew, last post! I will be adding the finishing touches to the mill building with blue doors, then will either start the terraced houses to the right, or start to build the land up around the mills... not sure which order yet though. Thanks for reading, Pete

The building on the left in the first image below is going to be finished in suitable rusty corrugated metal tones when I get my airbrush out at some point.

The lifting gear shown below was copied from an image in the book 'The Essential West Riding' by Herbert Whone. This is an interesting book that contains some great images so typical of the region.

All of the mill buildings are based on photos of actual buildings in various locations in the West Riding. For the building tucked into the corner (the third image on this post), I tried a new technique to produce the windows. I made a master and cast them using 2 part polyurethane casting resin. I can elaborate if anyone cares to know. The results were okay but because of the learning curve they took as long as the individually cut 0.5mm & 0.8mm square section ones. I will use this technique in the future, but not for highly reflective windows. I am satisfied in using them in this instance as the building is at the rear of the layout, tucked away!

Hi All, Well it's been a long time since I updated the layout thread but work has been progressing at a steady, but slow pace! Firstly, Andrew; apologies for the very late reply. I like the look of Aldersgate very much. The buildings look so intricate- it will look fantastic when complete. I like the sector plate but think I would struggle for space to index it. The cassettes are a big improvement. The reason for the lack of updates is mainly due to my ancient laptop not being able to upload pictures from my phone. I keep meaning to upgrade it and probably will at some point soon. I want one with a decent graphics card so I can run a CAD package I have access to, although this will encourage me to buy a laser printer so maybe i'd better not! Although I'm on RMweb every day, this is the first time I've used it on a PC/laptop and not my phone. I'm still getting used to the new version of the website, and have certainly noticed the upload restrictions! Regarding the gold membership, I don't have an issue paying for something I use very regularly although I must admit it still feels a little corporate. I have taken snips of a few images over the last year- when I say it like that it makes progress feel even slower!! All of the work has been on the scenic side of things, interlaced with running sessions. Thanks for reading, Pete

Hi Paddy, I’ve only just come across your blogs (I tend to camp in the layout topics area) and I love what you’ve created. The detailing is great and it has plenty of atmosphere. Hope to see more soon. Pete

I’ve certainly not left Andy- I have 2 modes: 1. Working on the layout 2. Thinking about working on the layout!! Thanks guys, Pete

Hi All, Just a quick update from me. Firstly; great to meet you too Martin, and I was really impressed with CNG. I'd like to see some more images of your fantastic modelling, and those lovely 24's! Well what have I been doing in between running sessions...? I have completed the next low relief building and started the mock-ups for the next few. The low relief buildings are all pretty straight forward once I have found reference images of the buildings I like, but I'm not that far away from the main scenic area above the fiddle yard entrance. I am playing around with the layout of the area but essentially it will be 2 main (fairly large) mill buildings, with a row of terrace house rear yards along the short wall. In the space above/behind the shed will be some scrub land with a small workshop building (just about) still standing! Well that's the plan anyway! Some images; Another project I have mostly completed is the expansion of the fiddle yard. I was restricted to 3 sidings and it was noticeable during running sessions; having to constantly remove and shuffle stock from the siding nearest the operating area (siding 3), leaving the other 2 for the longer rakes of coaches. I have extended siding 3 to use a cassette system. It is pretty basic but works well. I'll let the pictures do the very basic explaining; I used 5mm ply (cut nice and straight from the local large DIY shop) into 70mm x 1 metre lengths. I then countersunk M4 screws and tapped uncoated aluminium L section pieces for the rails and side supports. They are lightweight but rigid. I will be making more up soon, when I can justify spending more money on aluminium section! They fit a decent amount of stock on them, again sidings 1 & 2 are kept for the longer rakes. They have made operating so much more fluid and I am looking forward to making more permanent stock formations, detailing and weathering them. Thanks for reading, Pete

Hi Jamie, I must say I really love your buildings and can't wait to see how Ellerby progresses. Make a few out of stone and i'll have to steal them off you for Powell Street! All the best, Pete

Hi Everyone, Thanks so much for your recent kind comments; it means so much coming from an excellent bunch of modellers. I have made some progress on a low relief back-scene building over the last few weeks, as well as working on several timetable versions. I am still having problems with uploading images from my phone to my ancient laptop so I only have a few of the finished building below. The construction was fairly typical; mounting card base covered in plastikard, with windows made from 0.8 and 0.5mm square section on top of microscope glass slides. The roof is covered in slates cut from decent quality paper from an art shop. I heavily referenced the excellent 'Buildings for Bacup' topic- AKA the construction bible! I have started on the next building along so will add some images as I progress. The inspiration for the building (and the company name) came from an image in the Great Northern Outpost Volume 2: The Halifax, Thornton & Keighley Railway which has some excellent colour images; Thanks for reading, more soon. Pete

Hi Everyone, Well I've been having issues syncing my iphone and my bl**dy computer so haven't been able to upload any images for some time (out of interest I would never buy an iphone... it's a work phone). So in the end I have emailed myself a few photos to upload- sorry for a lack of detail. I am about to start on the scenic section that covers the fiddle yard entrance, but need some decent weather to cut some wood! So while the area had been stripped I took the following (poor quality but I like the feel); I also got around to finishing the over-bridge road covering. As it is for access to the (off scene) goods yard, I have built some fencing and a gate at the top end; this also covers the back scene join. I will take some closer images soon. And of course- a bus on a bridge! And now for a confession... I need to pluck up some courage for this; I HAVE A REAL THING FOR GREEN DIESELS Phew it's out in the open! I am thinking of having 2 eras- mid 50's and early 60's. The second part of my confession is I purchased a sound fitted class 24 diesel from SLW. I can completely agree with every review I have read about these models- the are museum quality and I think you'd struggle to find better off the shelf. The sounds are fantastic and the detail is incredible. For me, the best feature is the control system- the use of a brake feels so realistic. I absolutely love it. Anyway, just a quick update from me, hopefully more soon. Thanks, Pete Edited for poor spelling!

Thanks Manna- an oil and paraffin store it is! I've made a fair bit of progress on the bridge and am happy with it so far. I used various thicknesses of pastikard sheet and various 'I' and 'T' sections to make the structure. It is held together with plastic weld and has been painted with grey aerosol primer, with black on the underside and above the tracks (mainly above the MPD lines where engines are stood for longer periods). I need to put the road surface, which inclines towards the rear of the layout, on next. Some images so far; I like this close-up; I have started to make some heavy engineering loads for my off-scene engineering company. I have used some 3D printed parts bought at a model boat show I went to with my Dad in Haydock on Saturday. I must say the printing is very poor, I haven't used one item as it was taking too long to clean up so scratch built a load instead; Thanks for reading, Pete

Hi Folks, Thanks for the interest and comments. I have bedded in the hut building in the location closer to the shed. Manna- to be honest I haven't decided its purpose. Could it be a mess room without a chimney or stove?! It would be a lamp hut otherwise I suppose. Either way I much prefer the area now- I am just playing with the positioning of the various clutter. Richard H- the load on the warflat is a cast boiler from an LNER lorry made by Lledu. I just plonked it on to give my WD a decent load to shunt/pull. I have a few low-loader type wagons as I will be creating some heavy goods trains to and from an off-scene heavy engineering company. I have finally made a start on the over-bridge and just need a few more plasticard supplies from Hattons to get before I can really make progress on it. I have mocked the walls up to get a feel; And here's a couple of shots from my walk earlier- got an interesting view of Lime Street Station mouth from a car park; Hope to have more progress to report later this week. Thanks, Pete

Hi Jamie, I've been meaning to comment for a long while now but your modelling, especially your architectural models, are outstanding. I love the detail on the station building, and the finishes you achieve look very realistic. All the best, Pete

Hi folks, Some wonderful modelling displayed on RMWeb as always- it really is a great source of inspiration and knowledge. Thanks for the comment Chaz- to be honest I don't think I'll even connect the signals up to the lighting circuit at all as one of the LED's appears to have failed 'short' as they are wired in series but one is not illuminating. I could change it but it was a pain to install the linkages to the servos and the LED's were way too bright regardless of resistor value... so they may remain unlit! I managed to complete something that had been bugging me for a while; I made a hut for the MPD area but I ended up hating it. It looks way too out-of scale and just looked primitive in my opinion. Hut 1; I was thinking of what type of structure to replace it with for a while, and flicking through this months edition of Steam World magazine I was inspired by an image of Shrewsbury MPD on page 10. It features a shambolic looking hut which I loved the look of. I made mine a bit longer and entirely out of wood; I much prefer this structure to the original one. It is made of balsa and painted with sleeper grime brown and a lighted wood coloured acrylic. The windows are made from my usual method of microscope slide glass with 0.8mm plastic strip cut out for frames. The roof is one of my old business cards (these have been so useful for mixing paint and glue on) covered in masking tape and painted grey and dusted with powders. It is finished off with a scale link etched brass lock and notice on the door. I just need to decide where to put it prior to bedding it in. Option 1- towards the platform end of the shed roads; Option 2- towards the shed end of the shed roads; Any suggestions would be appreciated- what do you think? Not much difference I know! I also bought an old Bachmann van from Hattons for £3 to make a grounded van store. After painting and weathering, an etched brass padlock and some sleepers finished the look. Again, it is yet to be bedded in; I will be starting the girder bride this week- I just need to decide on a design! Happy modelling people, Pete